Curious how accurate my Garmin’s estimate of VO2 max is given I rarely do speed work outside ( I don’t believe treadmill workouts yield a score) and majority of my running outdoors is zone 2.
I have a lab VO2 test upcoming and am interested in getting a good benchmark score to compare the lab result with.
Any recommendations for workouts that will most accurately provide a realistic VO2 Max score? Short intervals? Longer? Track workout? Hills? Thanks in advance everyone.
Cooper test, either 12 minutes or 1.5 mile max effort will likely yield a reasonable estimate. VDOT for various distances can also be reasonable for an estimate.
Thank you! Will give these a try. Was curious if there were any known subtleties in how Garmin calculates.
from my perspective garmin justt starts with some score based on your hr and pace or power and then after each workout compares your pace/power with corresponding hr, gives your performance condition score and if it is positive it rises vo2max a bit or lowers it a bit. All I’m saying there is no one workout or in other words no mater what score you get at first, in weeks or months of regular training it will get much closer to the correct (by garmin) value.
for example if you do only zone 2 workouts, and pace is x it will give you some vo2max score and if after a month of training your zone 2 is at the same pace but your hr is -20bmp or hr is same but you go 1min faster, your vo2max will be rising. I’m saying this bc let’s say you do a speed workout, same logic still applies, it is important what your pace is but again it is even more imporatant if your pace is better in time or worse.
ps. your weight is important here so a scale with a wifi sync helps.
TLDR. there is no one workout best for it
The AI Overlords in my Garmin and my Apple Health estimate my VO2 Max at about the same value. Is it right? Based on my performance compared to others, I think it’s at least in the ballpark.
Here’s an N=1 that it’s Z2 that improves VO2max, not “VO2max efforts.”
(edit - this was not meant to imply that VO2max efforts aren’t of value)
If you have an indoor bike or exercise bike that can give you reasonably accurate power, and don’t mind doing a bit of math, I have found the Ekblom-Bak test give results similar to my Garmin. The method has been proven accurate for different population groups in a number of studies. This link gives some background on the method and the test procedure. Note: there is an link to an App, but it does not work
Honestly, cleaning the whole apartment sounds like a solid workout on its own, I always break a sweat just vacuuming and moving stuff around. I try to sneak in stretches at work too since being on my feet all day leaves me stiff if I don’t, and it really does make a difference. Even little things like that add up, so I’d say you definitely got more exercise than you think.
Funny story. I have this friend that works in a product factory , he loads unloads packages. His rhr was the same as mine and I do train endurance and he does 0 training , max he can get is some basketball game twice a month. So one day I told him to start an activity on the watch to see some charts. And surprisingly the man got lots of Z2 work and even some peak time into Z3. that’s an avg of 2 3h a day of Z2 work and lots of steps 10-16k. He might not be as efficient for specific sports but for overall fitness this is great.
Check the next to last paragraph on this Guide topic 